This week’s recipes are for festival food. Yes, festival food, the more I alliterate the less attractive it seems. But fear ye not, I do not come armed with soggy noodles and limp breakfast rolls. I come with slow roasted tomatoes and hummus, two simple things you can make in the comfort of your own home and take with you to Electric Picnic next weekend.

Taking your own food, aside from bags of crisps, is not the coolest thing to be seen doing (who cares about cool anyway?) but it is quite possibly the cleverest thing you could spend a little time thinking about. Not only will you notice the difference in your wallet (€7 crepes anyone?) but you’ll also save yourself dodgy festival belly on Monday morning.

These two recipes are easy to prepare and bring with you to the festival. Add some crackers, cheese or whatever else you feel like and lunch is sorted on one day, at least. If you’re not going to Electric Picnic or any other festival the recipes are ideal snack foods; the tomatoes are delicious stirred into hot pasta.

Half each tomato and place onto a baking tray seed side up, as shown in picture

Sprinkle a light layer of sugar, then salt, onto the tomatoes

Tear up some basil leaves and scatter over the tomatoes

Sprinkle your dried oregano – or any herb you like – over the tomatoes

Cover the tomatoes with a layer of olive oil (not extra virgin unless that’s all you have)

When your oven is as hot as it can get put the tomatoes in, close the door, turn off the oven and leave for the night. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! When you awake in the morning the tomatoes should be soft to the touch and absolutely delicious. Add them to salads, use with bruschetta, toss them into hot pasta, spread with cheese on crackers etc etc

Miss Piggy a Style Icon? Well she sure is getting some serious style kudos wearing the likes of Marc Jacobs’ Fall Collection and hanging out with the man himself (Pic Below)! Over her 35 year career she has even worn outfits from Designers such as Louis Vuitton, YSL, Jason Wu, and Prada – who would of thought?

If you like your fashion, (and us STELLAR girls do) keep your eyes peeled this weekend for “Uprising” the Fashion BreakThrough Festival. A kind of fashion fringe festival, the event celebrates 13 of Ireland’s newest, hottest designers. Over the weekend pop-up fashion shows and boutiques will spring up around Dublin City Centre.

Up-and-coming designer’s featured include, celebrity fave, Zoe Boomer, who has been touted as Ireland’s answer to Stella McCartney and who counts Natasha Bedingfield as a firm fan; also on the bill are the fabulously talented, Sophie Rieu, Bebhinn Flood, Heidi Higgins, Deirdre Harte, Lisa Shawgi, and Sinead Doyle.

If you like your fashion, (and us STELLAR girls do) keep your eyes peeled this weekend for “Uprising” the Fashion BreakThrough Festival. A kind of fashion fringe festival, the event celebrates 13 of Ireland’s newest, hottest designers. Over the weekend pop-up fashion shows and boutiques will spring up around Dublin City Centre.

Up-and-coming designers featured include, celebrity fave, Zoe Boomer, who has been touted as Ireland’s answer to Stella McCartney and who counts Natasha Bedingfield as a firm fan; also on the bill are the fabulously talented, Sophie Rieu, Bebhinn Flood, Heidi Higgins, Deirdre Harte, Lisa Shawgi, and Sinead Doyle.

For the deets on where to catch all the goings on, call into Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre, 12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar or give them a hollar on 01 677 2255.

Forget April; August is surely the cruelest month. Sartorially speaking, of course. Irish weather has been having an indecisive moment of late, and it’s wreaking havoc with wardrobe choices and causing all kinds of mood swings.

And what to eat amid all of this confusion? It’s too grey and overcast to really enjoy ice-cream, too warm and humid to indulge in wintery desserts, try though we may. This is where the cupcake comes in, namely a cupcake that is both sweet and salty, a cupcake that is the perfect antidote for a summer that barely arrived before it was already gone.

This week I baked vanilla cupcakes wth a rhubarb compote filling, topped with vanilla icing and salted pistachios. Rhubarb, like last week’s raspberries, is in season at the moment and is one of my favourite things to eat during the summer months. The compote filling can be eaten alone or with ice-cream, and can be made and stored in the fridge for a few days. As it’s so sweet it is a perfect accompaniment to the salty pistachios atop the cupcakes, sort of like mixing your popcorn and chocolate at the cinema but far, far, classier.

1)Put the rhubarb, sugar and vanilla extract in a saucepan to boil. Stir to help dissolve the sugar.

2)Cover the pan and simmer for four minutes. Uncover and heat until the fruit is just soft, but not falling apart.

3)Allow to cool, and place in the refrigerator until needed.

Cupcakes:

1)Preheat your oven to 180˚C and line a muffin tray with cases

2)Cream the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add the sugar and vanilla pod scrapings and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy TIP: If you’re not a big fan of vanilla or feel like something different you can add the grated zest of half a lemon here for lemon cupcakes.

3)Gradually add the beaten eggs then sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the mixture.

4)Divide your batter among the paper cases and place into the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until risen and golden and a fork inserted into them comes out clean.

Icing:

1)Cream the butter until soft

2)Add the icing sugar gradually and beat into butter

3)Add the vanilla extract (or zest of half a lemon if you want lemon favoured icing) and blend into the icing along with the cream.

4)If you find the consistency of the icing is off add more icing sugar or cream, depending on whether it’s not soft or too hard.

5)You can substitute the cream for crème fraiche for a slightly different, but still delicious, taste.

To construct the cupcakes:

1)Wait until the cupcakes have cooled and using a sharp knife cut a hole in the top of them that leaves enough space to insert the compote. Use the instructions on this website to guide you.

2)After replacing the top of the cupcake cover with a layer of icing and sprinkle over the salted pistachios.

3)Eat and enjoy!

If you’re not a big rhubarb fan you can change the filling to whatever you like or not use a filling at all. The toppings can change too, I used Cadbury’s Crunchie here instead of nuts.

Rumour has it, that another of our fave movies is about to be remade. Yep, the 1987 classic, Dirty Dancing is set to hit the big screen once again – but with a different cast and crew. According to reports Lionsgate Films are in the process of developing a script and sources say Kenny Ortega, director and choreographer of High School Musical could be the man in charge. But just who will he choose to replace Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze as Johnny and Baby… thoughts anyone?

The trophy jacket is back again and when they’re as gorgeous as some of the one’s lining our fave highstreet shops, you can see why! Whether you opt for embellished, beaded, brocade or the military variety, wear it loud and proud and await the envious glances…

Thanks to programmes like ‘Come Dine With Me’ and the R-word that dare not speak its name, entertaining at home has rarely been more popular. Stellar know that impressing your friends with delicious food, or being the Suzie Homemaker who brings homebaked goods to the office, is currently en vogue and have decided to offer you a weekly food item, with easy recipes and tips on how to make quick, delicious and impressive food.

This week’s recipe is for Chocolate and Raspberry Brownies with Chocolate Glaze. Raspberries are in season in Ireland at the moment, supermarkets are selling them rather cheaply and in abundance. This brownie recipe is so, so simple. It requires little in the way of kitchen equipment (apartment kitchenettes are difficult places to store the gadgetry many recipes require) and the ingredients are easy to source. If you don’t like raspberries or prefer another fruit, just leave them out. These brownies are so versatile you can experiment to your heart’s, and stomach’s, content.

Ingredients:

140g butter, cut into pieces – divided into 120g and 20g lots

220g dark chocolate (preferably 70% or higher) – divided into one lot of 120g and one of 90g

1) Place 120g butter and 120g of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over hot water and melt together

2) When the chocolate mix has melted add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly

3) Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture with a wooden spoon.

4) Add the flour to the mix and beat until the batter is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

5) Pour half of the batter into the baking tin and carefully place your raspberries over the batter in one layer

6)Pour the remaining batter over the raspberries and place in the hot oven for 35-40 mins. They are done when moving away from the edge of the tin and a knife or toothpick stuck into them comes out clean

8) Remove when cooled slightly from tin and place on wire rack to cool.

7) To make your glaze place the remaining chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl over hot water until they melt. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, pour over brownies and place in the fridge until the chocolate dulls slightly.

8) Use a sharp knife to cut the brownie into small pieces, eat and enjoy!

Thanks to programmes like ‘Come Dine With Me’ and because of the R-word that dare not speak its name, entertaining at home has rarely been more popular. Stellar know that impressing your friends with delicious food, or being the Suzie Homemaker who brings home-baked goods to the office, is currently en vogue and have decided to offer you a weekly food item, with easy recipes and tips on how to make quick, delicious and impressive food.

This week’s recipe is for Chocolate and Raspberry Brownies with Chocolate Glaze. Raspberries are in season in Ireland at the moment, supermarkets are selling them rather cheaply and in abundance. This brownie recipe is so, so simple. It requires little in the way of kitchen equipment (apartment kitchenettes are difficult places to store the gadgetry many recipes require) and the ingredients are easy to source. If you don’t like raspberries or prefer another fruit, just leave them out. These brownies are so versatile; you can experiment to your heart’s, and stomach’s, content.

Raspberries, delicious and in season

Ingredients:

140g butter, cut into pieces – divided into 120g and 20g lots

220g dark chocolate (preferably 70% or higher) – divided into one lot of 120g and one of 90g

2) Place 120g butter and 120g of the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over hot water and melt together

3) When the chocolate mix has melted add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly

4) Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture with a wooden spoon.

5) Add the flour to the mix and beat until the batter is smooth and pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

6) Pour half of the batter into the baking tin and carefully place your raspberries over the batter in one layer

7)Pour the remaining batter over the raspberries and place in the hot oven for 35-40 mins. They are done when moving away from the edge of the tin and a knife or toothpick stuck into them comes out clean

8 ) Remove when cooled slightly from tin and place on wire rack to cool.

9) To make your glaze place the remaining chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl over hot water until they melt. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, pour over brownies and place in the fridge until the chocolate dulls slightly.

10) Use a sharp knife to cut the brownie into small pieces, eat and enjoy!

We featured our new fave artist Kate Westerholt in the August issue of STELLAR and wanted to share some more of her amazing pieces. Kate creates limited edition samplers -quirky versions of the classic Home Sweet Home wall hangings which can take Kate up to three weeks each to create.

With Blur’s Damon Albarn and Anna Wintour among her fans, we reckon an investment in one of Kate’s pieces, might just be a wise one…